Quick Facts
Biography
Santhosh George Kulangara (born 25 December 1971) is the founder and chief explorer of Safari TV, the first and only exploration channel in India. He started his career in television media at the age of 17 and recognized well with production of a number of tele films, tele serials and documentaries for Doordarshan, Thiruvananthapuram. His most important contribution to the visual media is Sancharam – the first visual travelogue in Malayalam. It has crossed 1000 episodes. The traveler goes to cities and villages of different nations and captures in his camera the remnants of history, today’s life, uniqueness of nature, traditions, culture and everything. The direction and camera of Sancharam are by Santhosh George Kulangara. He has already completed his journey to more than 100 countries in Asian, African, Australian, American, European continents and Antarctica during last 19 years. After 16 years since he had started travelling, Sancharam has turned out to be an exclusive, round-the-clock exploration channel Safari. The channel offers a 24-hour live streaming. The program Sanchariyude Diarykurippukal in Safari is most notable; Santhosh himself shares his different experiences from journeys in this program.
Background
Managing Director, Safari Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.
Safari is a 24×7 television channel that brings the diversity of the global expanse to the visiting room of every Malayalee. It is the first exploration channel in India. Safari presents diverse programmes that provide entertainment and knowledge alike. World travels, Indian travels, numerous other journeys, history, geography, culture, art and adventure—all come before the viewers through this channel. The curiosity to know ‘what is beyond that’ is the real motive of all the explorations of mankind. The objective of Safari is to inspire each and every viewer to take up travels, both short and extensive, for experiencing and learning the world.
Managing Director, Labour India Publications Ltd.
He is the managing director and managing editor of Labour India Publications Ltd, which is the largest educational publishing house in Kerala, regularly publishing 36 different educational journals and magazines for the students. The company employs more than 500 people is also producing multimedia programs, World travel DVDs and interactive DVDs for children.
Managing Director, Labour India Software Laboratories
Labour India Software Laboratories is the film and television studio where post-production and sound recording works of films and TV serials are done. Its studios are equipped with technology for recording and editing.
Chairman, Labour India Educational Research Centre
Santhosh George Kulangara is the founder of the first educational research centre in the private sector in India. The Labour India Educational Research Centre at Marangattupilly in Kottayam District was inaugurated by former President of India K. R. Narayanan on March 19, 2004. Smart Camp is one of the many programmes of LIERC with a view to develop each and every child into an individual with great personality. The Smart Camp is aimed at discovering, awakening and nurturing the inherent talents of children. The children in this camp are trained by a 40-member team that includes eminent trainers. Every year, thousands of children participate in these camps.
Founder, Labour India Rural Employment Program
The Labour India Rural Employment Programme (LIREP) is a project initiated by Santhosh George Kulangara which is aimed at providing employment to rural women. There are 3000 members working in this project and they lead a happy life by earning income by supplying books and educational materials prepared by Labour India Educational Research Centre to rural households. The LIREP members, which include mostly housewives, have attained new levels of meaning to their life.
Founder, www.Brilliantstudent.com
Brilliantstudent.com is another venture of Santhosh George Kulangara. It is an all-in-one educational portal that provides complete educational solutions to the students, parents and teachers. This portal contains downloadable syllabus content that comprehensively covers all topics as per CBSE syllabus in an easy-to-understand form. This includes textual exercises, solved problems, Higher Order Thinking Skills topics etc. which a student needs in his daily classroom learning.
Managing Director, Pondshore Resorts Pvt. Ltd. – a heritage tourism project
Kulangara is also the managing Director of Pondshore Resorts Private Ltd., the hospitality division of the group from Cochin. The major project under the company is ‘Kerala Palace’ a backwater island resort. The guests arriving at this heritage resort will experience the richness of Kerala's culture and tradition. This resort re-enacts 200 years back life at a traditional Kerala royal palace for the guests.
Managing Director, Safari Addict
This company is into organizing different travel packages, trekking programs and other experiential tourism projects.
First Indian space tourist
Santhosh George Kulangara is participating as first space tourist from India in the space voyage to be conducted by the London-based Virgin Galactic. Santhosh George’s space journey will be held very soon in the spacecraft named Spaceship - II. He will be taking off to space in the spaceship from Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA. Spaceship-II is designed for flight of six passengers and two pilots at a time. The debutant voyagers in Spaceship-II include the scientist Stephen Hawking soon.
Film maker
Santhosh George Kulangara is the director and producer of the movie Chandrayaan based on the story of Chandrayaan-1 which placed the Indian flag on the lunar surface. The behind-the-scene stories, which occurred during the historical achievement that gave India an honorable position in the Lunar Club, are being depicted as a feature film in English. The Rocket Assembly Building at Sriharikota, the Rocket Launch Pad, Mission Control Centre, Spacecraft Assembly Building, PSLV Rocket, and Chandrayaan Spacecraft are all recreated in gigantic sets of Labour India Film and TV studios. The chief architects, who worked behind the actual Chandrayaan project, constitute the main characters of the film. A few foreign actors as well as those from various parts of India also acted in this movie. Chandrayaan is the first space fiction feature film made in India.
He is the producer of Malayalam television-programmes Samayam, Acharya (a documentary about Wagamon), Maluvinte Lokam, Chithirapurathe Visheshangal, and Kerala Vishesham which were produced for Doordarshan. He also directed the documentary Krishnagatha.
Books
Santhosh George Kulangara has written six books related to his travels and experiences around the world. These books, written in Malayalam, have received wide acceptance and appreciation.
This is a travelogue of his journey through Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark in a winter season.
A narrative of his journey through 50 countries, the people he met on the way and his experiences.
This narrative describes his extensive journey through the various states of the U.S.A and Canada. It also describes the life of people in America, after the 9/11 terror attack.
This book describes his experiences during the zero gravity training conducted in a specially designed aircraft at Kennedy Space Center-Florida.
This is a narrative of his journey through the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland. This book describes the scenario in these countries after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Awards
He won the Kerala Sahithya Accademi Award for the travelogue Baltic Diary (2014). He was also awarded Rapa National Award for the director of the best non-fiction TV programme (2003), The Kamal Patra award of Junior Chamber International for young businessmen (2002), Akshaya’ National Award (2003), Film Critics Association Award (2003, 2006), National Film Academy Award (2005), The Rapa National Award for the best director (2003, 2004), Rotary Star of The Year Award (2007), The Outstanding Young Indian Award of Indian Junior Chamber. (2005), Vivekananda Puraskaram (2007), Chancellor live mini screen award, K R Narayanan media award (2007), Youth Hostels Association award (2007), Asian Television award (2009), Outstanding Young Indian Award of Indian Junior Chamber (2010).
Sancharam has entered into the Limca Book of Records for being a visual travelogue prepared by a person travelling solo to various nations (2007).
He visited former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who gave him a few tips for his space journey. Santhosh George Kulangara was advised by the president to see to it that the children of the nation were benefited by his experiences.
Bahumukha Prathibha at FLOWERS TV awards 2017.